This invention relates to an analog universal timepiece, and more particularly to an analog universal timepiece with a unique hour hand correcting mechanism.
Many types of universal timepieces which show the time at main cities or in different areas of the world have been proposed.
In particular, portable universal watches are convenient for people traveling abroad to tell the difference between the local time of the place they are visiting and the corresponding time in their home country.
Digital universal timepieces show the times in two different places on the same display, either simultaneously or alternately. They are set to the local time by correcting the hour by means of a corrector switch.
In contrast, analog universal timepieces simultaneously show the time in a certain area of the world together with the times in other areas by means of a pointer and an area indicator carrying the names of such areas. The hour and minute hands of the analog universal timepieces are linked together through a train of gear wheels. To set to the time of a certain area, therefore, the minute hand must be turned many times until the hour hand shows the current hour in that area though the minute hand itself needs not to be corrected. This roundabout correction requires so much time that people often forget the current time during correction or fail to return the minute hand to its accurate position after correction. Some designs permit independent correction of the hour hand, but they do not allow the hour hand to be set in proper relation to the minute hand.